The Shadow of the Fangs: The Outsider
by Zizziana
Summary: Clever, resourceful and deadly, Wyllum is the Shadow of the Fangs, an intel agent for a powerful crime lord. An outsider by nature, he works for his own purposes. But when a Rebel Senator shows up, he finds himself being drawn into her quest. Part 1 of 3.


Note to the Reader: "Shadow of the Fangs: The Outsider" is one of the Star Wars: Vindication stories. SWV is a message board RPG that has taken a life of it's own at times. Many of the Vindication stories are based of of posts from the boards. I have attempted to edit them as needed while keeping as much of the original words as possible. Any changes or additional scenes I made were to flesh out the story and my goal was to still keep the spirit of the posts behind them. Because this is an RPG, the Star Wars universe may not have perfect historical accuracy, most RPGs work on the idea of, "Star Wars as it could be." I also feel as though I should warn the reader that numerous references to players favorite movies and shows are often made, because we have found them amusing.

Shadow of the Fangs

-Part One-

The Outsider

But I'm on the outside

I'm looking in

I can see through you 

See your true colors

Cuz inside you're ugly

You're ugly like me

I can see through you

See to the real you

"Outside," Staind

_Six weeks before Star Wars: A New Hope...._

The city of Carbridai never went to sleep at night. Rather, night was when it came to life, when those with the real power in the city came out to play a continuous game of deadly chess. There were kings, there were fighting men and then there were the pawns. The pawns were the ones that didn't have a chance, for their fates could be changed at the whim of the kings on a sudden whim...The secret of the game was to appear to be the pawn, but but to secretly be a king.

Rain splattered hard against the windows of a set of dark quarters on the northern edge of the city. Outside the winds howled with fury and the ocean waves crashed with a violent frustration. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the small room where a dark figure was sprawled across a bed that hadn't been slept in.

Wyllum Austen stared up at his ceiling, letting his thoughts wander where they would. He was a tall man, and athletically built despite being on the lanky side. His hair had once been brown but was now dyed to a bright blonde that had been slicked back carefully. He had a face full of sharp features that fell into a natural scowl when he became annoyed. Then there was the intensity in his piercing blue gaze, that had a sense of purpose so powerfully unnerving that it had created the unspoken distance that made Wyllum an outsider.

Not that he minded. Being on the outside allowed him to study the inside without getting tangled up within it. The secrets of the city had fallen into his hands, making him a king rather than a pawn. Of course, Tarzago and the rest of the Black Fangs knew nothing about that. They called him the "Shadow of the Fangs" in honor of the way he crept about, gathering information and analyzing rumors for the gang until the truth could be pulled from them. He wore their tattoo on his forearm; the coiled serpent with the fangs that had become the Crime Syndicate's trademark, but all the symbol meant to him was access to what the syndicate held. He felt no loyalties to them.

Wyllum stretched for a moment, his gaze never leaving the spot it had locked onto. He hadn't even bothered to take off his leather trench coat or heavy boots when he had come in. Most nights he was out anyway and he only slept in those rare moments where his mind was struggling to fit together secrets so elusive that only the mysterious reaches of slumber seemed to be able to posses them.

But this wasn't one of those nights. Tonight he was the restless predator looking for trouble. Luckily, Dreylin wasn't a planet that lacked any of it and he knew things were going to be far from calm very shortly.

Wyllum's lips twisted up with a wry amusement. "Put a Corellian anywhere and you'll never suffer a dull moment." He shifted his weight forward, rolling up until he was sitting. This time, the Corellian in question wasn't him.

He knew Tarzago wasn't going to be pleased. Everyone knew that the crime lord hated the Rebel Alliance. Tarzago had made an honest amount of illicit money with the Empire in power and he wasn't too keen on the idea of a bunch of do-gooders with a lot luck and a few crackshot leaders getting in the way of that. 

The addition of a Rebel Base had made him more than a little angry already, especially since no one was about to tell the Empire where it was. All they needed was some weasel of an intel agent to come in for the Rebels, start poking around the crime syndicates and then start squeezing them for all they were worth. Someone in the Alliance had been thinking when they'd planned on the Dreylin base, but Tarzago had refused to be impressed and had gone through all amounts of trouble to try and make the Rebels miserable. 

"Stupid wanker," Wyllum muttered. "Went messing with a group that has the whole justice bit on their agenda and what did he think was going to happen? They just went off running to their higher ups until they got someone who could do something to come out."

He could already see the twitchy look on Tarzago's face when he gave him the news. The Alliance hadn't just sent in one of their leaders to take care of the Dreylin base. No, they had pulled out the big guns and send in the one leader who knew how to deal with the crime lords, bounty hunters and other lawbreakers that ran the city. They had sent in Senator Cammora Armanca Naberrie, the Corellian ex-smuggler gone diplomat.

Wyllum started to snicker. When Tarzago had found out that there were Rebels running loose on his planet he had ordered the Shadow of the Fangs to dig up everything he could on their leaders. Wyllum was the first to admit it that it often made good reading and Cammora's story had caught his attention more than once.

It was the bond of their shared homeworld that had first caught his eye. That and the parsec long criminal record that she carried. How someone went from smuggling to diplomacy he was still trying to sort out. What he did know was that in about a year and a half she's been captured and tortured by the Empire several times, had her unknown Force sensitivity exposed, survived men like the the Sith Lord Dakkon Blackblade and the late Commodore Erik Doyle, served as president for awhile and even married the Rebel Admiral Steve Naberrie and given birth to their son. Now, after all of that, she was coming to Dreylin.

It was going to be an interesting experience to say the least.

***

"Armanca Naberrie!" Tarzago fummed, knocking a bottle of wine from his handsome wood carved desk. "They sent in the Corellian Diplomat?"

Wyllum tried not to laugh. Tarzago was a big, heavy built man, the kind who liked to use his imposing figure to bully people. When he got mad, his face went red and he started to twitch, which he had been doing for a good three minutes already.

"She's a little girl," Wyllum said. "Nothing we can't handle."

"She's harassed Imperial Officers and gotten away with it."

"That's because she got them when they were flirting with her which shouldn't be a problem here. Imperial men are too caught up in their own interests, it's what happens when those officers get away from civilization too long. I'll look into this and see what we can find on her. She shouldn't be a problem if we don't let her interfere in our matters."

Tarzago nodded. "You are the Shadow, Wyllum, and I trust you'll do your job completely..."

Yes I will, Wyllum thought. Maybe I'll even handle your business while I'm at it...

***

A few evenings later found Wyllum sitting in a darker corner of the Dark Star, one of the more shadier cantinas on Dreylin. If you hadn't committed a crime, you really weren't allowed to be a patron. It was a dingy little place but it had attracted it's own crowd of regulars as well as people like Wyllum who drifted in and out when they pleased, doing their rounds to keep track of what was happening in the city. Like most intel agents, Wyllum was very aware of the fact that drunk people often spilled more than just their drinks.

"Look who's here!"

Wyllum winced as the short little human dropped into the seat across from him. Jakins was nothing short of an annoyance and a security problem. An expert at forgery, he could draw up fake Ids and paperwork in the blink of an eye but he had never learned when to keep his mouth shut. "What do you want, you bloody wanker?"

"Didn't think you came here..."

"Doing rounds," Wyllum replied. He hoped his brush off would give Jakins the hint, there had never been a moment that he hadn't wished the forger was far, far away.

"Lucky night to be here..." Jakins gushed, pushing his stringy too-long hair from his face. "See the new bartender, now she's something else..."

Wyllum raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to the bar. Indeed, there was a new bartender behind the counter. From where he was he could see that she was a slight little thing who had the counter's complete and undivided attention.

"Her name's Roana..." Jakins said. "She's Corellian, like you."

Wyllum's eyebrow rose higher. "Corellian?"

Jakins paused. "C'mon though, I saw her first."

Wyllum just gave him a dark look, ignoring Jakin's whiny protest. "Yes, I'm sure she's very enchanted with you. I hope you have a long happy marriage in which she gives you ten children. So what did she say when you professed your undying passion for her?"

"Well. Uh..." Jakins shifted his weight from foot to foot and his gaze shifted to the floor.

"Haven't gone and wooed her yet? Why am I not surprised?"

Jakins started to turn red.

Wyllum glowered at him."Look, it's a girl, nothing to be afraid of." He stood up and crossed the bar, dropping into the one free seat at the counter. 

The bartender noticed him at once and turned towards him. "What will it be?" she asked as she wiped a glass clean with a tired looking dish rag.

Wyllum paused. Jakins was right - she was a lovely one. There was something about her that was unnaturally different. She had a young look that probably lied at how old she was. Long dark hair framed a face set by deep, dark eyes that sparkled as she smiled. She was wearing all black and while her clothes were stylish they weren't flashy. It was in the way she moved that set her apart. All of her motions had a smooth grace that looked impossible to achieve. What a pretty thing like this was doing at the Dark Star, Wyllum didn't know.

"Corellian whiskey," he said, slapping down a few credits. "With half a lemon squeezed in and a dash of rum."

Roana nodded. "Coming right up," she said.

He frowned as he watched her, noticing for the first time the glove on one of her hands. When she brought him his drink he suddenly realized just what it meant.

_Well, well, what do you think you're doing tending bar at the Dark Star, Senator?_

He was sure it was her. The small, slight build, the rough description, the gloved hand. Wyllum knew she'd fought it out with a Sith on Corellia and had lost one of her hands in the fight. But why a diplomat was tending bar was beyond him.

It was an intriguing puzzleand that was the kind he couldn't turn away from.

"So?" Jakins asked as Wyllum headed back with his drink. "What do you think?"

"She's out of your league to say the least."

"I suppose she's in yours?"

Wyllum shook his head, trying to decide whether to be annoyed or amused. "I'm not interested."

"Didn't you see her?"

"Yes, I saw her," Wyllum said. "Lovely girl, I'm sure, doesn't mean I need to try and use my charming personality to win her undying love."

"Good, then I'll go for her."

Wyllum almost snorted. Jakin's amorous ambitions might have been amusing, if they hadn't been so pathetic. "You do that Jakins but if she wipes the floors with you, I'm not going to be able to respect you as a man..."

***

The entire evening, Wyllum kept a vigil at the table, watching her. Hours later, he watched her pull out her bartender's specialty: Corellian whiskey with a kick. Whatever the kick was, it lived up to his name. Wyllum watched no less than five men falling off their stools after trying to down a single shot.

"No place for a Rebel like her," he muttered. "How dumb do you have to be to try whatever it is she thinks she's trying? Crazy girl, going to get herself killed if she's not careful.

For some reason, he couldn't pull himself away from her. It wasn't an infatuation like Jekins was well on his way to forming; Wyllum had never tried to mix business and pleasure, it was far too dangerous. No, his interest was more professional. He'd always had a curiosity concerning the Alliance, his own Corellian spirit had given him a deep hatred for the Empire, but he'd never chosen to get involved. Getting mixed up in crusades was a good way to get yourself slowly killed, but it didn't mean he couldn't believe in them just the same. 

He watched as another bartender came in to take over which meant that Cammora would be heading out. Without a second though, he ducked out the front and slipped around towards the back just in time to catch Cammora coming out the back door and sliding on her jacket.

"Roana!"

Wyllum looked up and watched Martinus, the big burly bouncer coming down towards her. The Shadow rolled his eyes. Martinus did his job well enough, but he wasn't exactly the brightest of people.

Cammora turned and let the bouncer catch up to her. "Yes?" she asked, stopping in front of a parked speeder bike.

"Been trying to figure out what you're trying to pull." Martinus crossed his arms in front of him, trying to look like a frightening, annoyed bouncer.

Cammora didn't even blink. "Just trying to make my way through this galaxy, same as anyone else."

"Sure, and what is that stuff you're giving them?"

"That's a bartender secret."

Martinus gave up with a sigh. "Full of secrets, aren't we?"

Wyllum chuckled to himself. Oh was she ever...

"Isn't everyone on this planet?"

She was cheeky too. Definitely from Corellia.

Martinus frowned. "This isn't a safe place, especially for someone as young as you."

_You forgot cute, you wanker_. Wyllum rolled his eyes. _Don't tell me you're after her too or I hope you try something so I can have the pleasure of watching her beat your stupid hide..._

Cammora was holding her own though. "I can take care of myself, trust me."

"I'm serious. That crowd in there can get nasty. A lot of those men have records, some are pretty hefty..."

_You ought to see hers you big dumb..._

"I'm a daughter of Corellia. Thank you for your concern, but I can handle myself." She swung up onto the bike. "If you don't mind, my shift is over and I'd like to go home..."

Wyllum watched her speed off and then he felt a little warning tingle run through him and he noticed another bike heading in her direction. He cursed under his breath and went racing for his own vehicle. Someone else looked a little too interested in the new bartender and he didn't think they were going to be friendly about it either.

He leaped onto his speeder bike and tore off into the night after them, the cool sea air whipping at his hair and face. Cammora had gotten a head start on him and so had her pursuers. New people had to be investigated by the locals, it was an unspoken rule. Who was following her could be any number of people: one of the gangs, the Empire, or just someone looking to cause trouble.

They hit the edge of the city, nearing the shoreline. He watched Cammora take a sharp turn and he and the pursuer followed. It took all of his skills to handle the bike, and he couldn't help but to be impressed at how effortlessly she handled her vehicle. They roared down the road and he watched her moving from side to side, preparing for blaster fire. 

Wyllum's grip tightened as they all took another sharp turn. The pursuer started to kick into gear, speed up and began to close in. Cammora looked over her shoulder for a brief second and then kicked up her speed in return. She then took a sudden hard turn and started to pull up over the wall that protected the city from the ocean waters.

"Is she out of her bloody mind?" Wyllum veered hard so that he was sliding against the bottom of the wall. He watched the two bikes race across the ledge, knowing it was only about eighteen inches wide. He sneaked a peek at her he and saw her pull something from her belt and pitch it behind her.

That's all it took. The sudden distraction, the treacherous balancing act and whoever was pursuing her fell and hit the water. Wyllum looked up again and watched her speed off into the night, not slowing down for anything.

He pulled his speeder bike to a stop and took a deep breath. His heart was pounding as the rush of the chase, but there were still unanswered questions. 

Wyllum hurried up to the wall and peered down into it. A figure was coming up out of the water although looking a little worse for the wear. He watched the pursuer start edging to where the wall got shorter and the rocks would lead him up over it.

"Let's see who you are..." Wyllum muttered. He grabbed his bike and sped up to where the stalker was coming up along the rocks. The figure paused for a moment. "Who's there?"

"I could ask you that question..." Wyllum called.

"Shadow," the man cursed and came nearer, limping slightly. When he came up to Wyllum, the intel agent easily identified as one of Tarzago's henchmen. "What are you doing out here?"

"Following leads. Was that you who did that falling bit back there?"

The man snarled. "Wouldn't have made it if I hadn't jumped when I went over. Crazy witch." 

"Who was that you were tailing?"

"Some girl, kinda new around here. Heard a bit about her, Tarzago wants to know who she is. That's all."

Wyllum nodded but he wasn't fooled for a moment. He'd been in this business to know that, "that's all" meant things were only just beginning.

***

"She's wonderful," Jekins gushed a few days later. "Isn't she?"

Wyllum was standing at the docks, looking into the water. Tarzago's stalker had taken a good fifteen foot fall, and he'd been lucky the water was deep or he wouldn't have made it. "Whatever you say..."

"Besides, I'm her special investigator."

Wyllum snorted. "Oh are you now?"

"She needs information, and I'm here to give it her." Jekins looked immensely pleased with himself. 

"Information on what?"

"Not my business to say."

Wyllum could have strangled him. Of all the times for Jenkins to try and play show off with him, this was hardly the time. He bit his lip and just resisted the impulse to injure the forger.

"So, what are you doing here? Looking into some mysterious business for Tarzago?"

"Actually, I'm standing here working on a collection of the most bloody awful poetry you've ever heard while I use the sea as an inspiration."

Jekins gave him a blank look.

"Of course I'm here on business, you stupid wanker, don't tell me you thought I was serious?" Wyllum shook his head in disgust, jammed his hands into his pockets and started off towards his speeder bike.

"You're done?"

Wyllum didn't answer. What he had was a lot of thoughts running through his head and he needed the chance to sort them all out.

***

"The Alliance is a problem," Tarzago told Wyllum that night. "A big problem. I don't like that this Armanca Naberrie woman has shown up."

Wyllum leaned back in his chair like a perched feline. "Are you going to have her killed?"

"Nothing would please me more..."

Wyllum shrugged. He wasn't surprised. Tarzago tried to take out anyone that might prove to be a challenge. While it was a smart business move, it was a rather melodramatic practice.

"Are you sure you've given me all you know?"

Wyllum didn't so much as blink. "Don't I always?" 

Tarzago smiled. "You're the best, Wyllum."

And Wyllum knew it. Only the best could get away with how much he'd kept from Tarzago. Wyllum had given Tarzago what he thought Tarzago could do the least damage with and above all, Wyllum always worked for himself. Giving Tarzago birthdays and an accomplishment list didn't give him much of anything, but it did make Wyllum look as though he's done deep research and analysis for the crime lord.

"Tarzago!" The door flew open and Wyllum watched the crime lord's good for nothing cousin, Dorin come stumbling in looking as though someone had pounded him good. 

"What happened to you?" Tarzago demanded.

"It's was that little witch!"

Wyllum turned in his seat and looked at Dorin curiously. "You got beaten up by a girl?" He tried not to smirk but started failing miserably. "Oh, she must have been a vicious one...please tell me she was older than fifteen..."

"Shut up," Dorin sneered. He and Wyllum had never cared for each other much and Dorin probably would hve killed him long ago if Tarzago hadn't had such a use for the Shadow.

"Who was it?" Tarzago asked. 

"That bartender at the Dark Star. The one with the Corellian Whiskey with a kick? I don't know where she learned to fight like that but she was fast..."

"You wanker," Wyllum said. " Most bartenders with all of their teeth can throw a punch. So can most of the ones missing them for that matter..."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Wyllum." Dorin turned to Tarzago. "She's fast, unnaturally fast."

Tarzago smiled slowly. "Talented, hmmm? Maybe we should go see if she wants a job..."

Wyllum felt himself stiffen, there was no possible way that this was going to end well.

***

A few nights later found Wyllum skulking about the crime syndicate's headquarters on his way out to do his rounds. He hated to admit it but he was starting to become concerned over Cammora. He wasn't trying to pursue her the way every other man in the galaxy was, rather, her remaining alive happened to be in his best interests.

It was complicated at best. While he was a Rebel at heart, he was still an outsider and not part of the club. He wasn't about to break from his place for a struggling cause no matter how heroic either, but breaking for Cammora Armanca Naberrie was a different matter altogether. This was a person he could believe in because she possibly had the power to do something with the Alliance.

News had reached him just the other day that Cammora had predictably refused to work for Tarzago. Words had been exchanged, threats had been placed down on the table and now the little bartender was in deeper than she realized - in two completely different directions.

"Good job," Wyllum remarked. "Truly someone only a Corellian could manage so smoothly, so I suppose I had better go and make sure that they don't go and kill, shouldn't I?"

He sighed. Trust a bloody woman to go and make things complicated.

***

When Wyllum arrived at the tiny bar, he knew something was most certainly out of the ordinary. Two figures stood by the door, arguing with Martinus and the bouncer was getting the annoyed look on his face that usually lead to broken bones and a big bloody mess. 

Wyllum frowned and took a step forward, trying to get a better look. There was something about the taller of the two men that seemed odd. He was dark blonde and had a neatly trimmed goatee framing his face. What Wyllum had noticed was his straight-backed stance that could only have come from discipline and focus. The man was also well muscled, and had a certain authoritative presence about him that couldn't be ignored. 

"Get the hell outta my way before I make you part this damn wall, got it?" the man hissed with a rage that would have scared most people senseless.

Of course, Martinus had the luck of not only being big but not too bright either.

"Oh no you don't." The bouncer didn't budge. "Look, I ain't letting anyone that riled up coming in. We've had problems enough..."

"I warned you..."

Wyllum raised an eyebrow. This went on any further and the Dark Star would be needing a new bouncer.

"Martinus!" Suddenly Cammora was at the door. The bouncer had started to bring his arm back in preparation for a swing but as his fist shot forward she neatly grabbed it, stopping the much larger man easily.

Martinus started for a moment, struggling over what to say until he finally settled on, "You know this man?"

Cammora got a wry look. "You could say that..."

The bouncer started to eye the other man carefully. "Why, is this some old boyfriend of yours?" He glared at the other man. "You don't get to harass our bartender here just because you think you can. Woman has enough troubles as it is."

The blonde man's companion gave a low, dark chuckle and started to grin. "You're lucky I stripped him of his weapons. At least now you stand a chance."

The blonde man turned to face the bouncer. "Yeah, I'm an old boyfriend, got a problem with that? Cause if you do, I'll solve it for you right now."

Wyllum's eyes were locked on them. Something about this seemed different in a way he knew he should be catching, but the pieces were starting to elude him. He stood transfixed while his mind went out in all directions, trying to bring the hidden clues in to him.

"Roana, I'll take care of this." Martinus took a step back and started pushing up his sleeves. "Not going to let some guy come roaring in here ready to push you around. What made you leave him, he turn mean?"

"Not quite," Wyllum whispered and the pieces all fell into place at once. "She never left him in the first place but that still doesn't explain what Admiral Steve Naberrie thinks he's doing out here..."

"Don't!" Cammora jumped between them. "It's not like that. He'd never hurt me." She started to stumble towards her husband.

"Roana, get back in, you're still on duty! For all we know, Tarzago sent him down here."

Wyllum snorted. Just when he thought Martinus couldn't get any more dense, the bouncer found a way to top himself.

"Who?" Naberrie asked as Cammora crept closer to him. "Look, will you get the hell out of here already? Sooner you do, sooner she can go back to her _work_ and we won't have to worry about scraping you up from all over the damn building, deal?"

"Roana..."

The look in Cammora's eyes said everything, even in the dim light. Martinus' words were lost to her and Wyllum knew it. She took one final step and stumbled right into Naberrie, flinging both arms around him.

"Roana!"

"Martinus, I'm off in ten minutes and you know it. I'm going home."

"I don't like this, what's going on?"

"Don't ask and you can't be held accountable later." Her softened gaze didn't leave Naberrie and whatever she said to him next Wyllum couldn't make out but he didn't need to, she squeezed Naberrie tightly and the look she gave her husband revealed the secrets of her heart. 

Naberrie gently brushed a hand across her bruised face and whispered something to her, she frowned in worry for just a second and then she took his arm and followed him towards the back while Naberrie said something to her so softly that Wyllum couldn't hear.

He watched the other man follow after them and Martinus just stared, still clueless over what had happened. Wyllum had no pity for the bouncer, and he couldn't get the sight of Cammora and her husband out of his mind. Somehow that and all of the reports he'd read managed to touch something inside of him. Cammora had struggled and fought with everything she had for the Alliance, she'd suffered for every victory, and despite all the dangers, she'd dared to make one man her entire reason for living.

Most people called it stupid.

He called it courageous, more courageous than he'd ever been in his entire life.

***

Wyllum slipped onto the landing outside of his quarters, his thoughts still running wildly through his mind. He wasn't use to being so moved , he wasn't use to feeling so compelled, he wasn't use to not being in complete control of everything, and he wasn't use to having bodies slumped against his door either...

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, looking down at Jekins sprawled out against his door. "You damned wanker, what have you gotten yourself into now?" 

Jekins moaned and his hand shifted, revealing the spreading pool of blood underneath.

Wyllum cursed again. First glance told him the wound was fatal. "Who did this?" 

"Tarzago," Jekins moaned. "They found out, they found out I was going to Roana..."

Wyllum would have killed Jenkins himself if only Tarzago hadn't gone off and beaten him to it. "That's the first rule,. you don't ever endanger your contact." His mind started reeling. Now Cammora was in deeper than she was before, Cammora whom the Alliance couldn't afford to loose right now. He had to do something and do it fast. 

Jekins started to choke up blood.

"Listen," Wyllum said, his heart starting to pound. "Do you know who Roana really is?"

Jenkins looked blank.

"She's Cammora Armanca Naberrie, the Rebel Senator." Recognition flickered in Jenkins surprised eyes. "Right, so if you want to ask her to dinner you're a bit late." Wyllum took a deep breath. He alone had the power and the knowledge to help her. Question was, did he dare to do it?

Jekins eyes were beginning to close.

"Jekins, stay alive you bloody pain in the..." Wyllum grabbed him by the collar and shook him hard. "Look, you're not too late to help me help her. Where were you going to meet her?"

Nothing.

"Jekins!"

The forger whispered something under his breath and Wyllum leaned in close enough to just catch the words before the younger man's eyes closed and he slumped lifelessly to the floor. 

Wyllum stood up and regarded him for a moment. All he had to do was go and meet her, tell her he was there to help her. One move and there would be no turning back, he'd be stepping out of the shadows and and there would be no going back.

Wyllum swallowed hard. He'd always been the loner, always been the outsider. It had kept him safe as the king posing as a pawn, but sooner or later even kings had to come forward and show themselves for what they were, and now at long last the outsider was going to become the king he truly was.


End file.
